A tweet sent out by the South Carolina Emergency Management Division on October 5 at 6:57 am, warned people to stay where they are because the flooding was to continue.
In one week, from October 1 – October 7, ten major regions of South Carolina received more than two feet of rainfall while five of these ten recorded over three feet of rain. Regions with the most rainfall are Georgetown measuring a total of 23.88 inches and Mount Pleasant cumulating at 27.15 inches. A National Weather Service forecaster gave a comment to Huffington post explaining that, “It’s still a pretty desperate situation, we are going to have river flooding for weeks, if not months.”
The University of South Carolina, parts of the city of Columbia and a total of 26,000 natives remain without power while another 40,000 are living without access to drinkable water. Emergency and other service members devised a plan and were able to distribute bottled water along with portable restrooms the morning of Monday the 5th. While South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, refused to comment on “disturbing” questions regarding the state’s infrastructure or any monetary damages, on mayor did not shy away from the question. CNN received a statement from Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin on Monday and was recorded saying, “”I believe that things will get worse before they get better….Eventually the floods will abate, but then we have to access the damage, and I anticipate that damage will probably be in the billions of dollars…”
Since the beginning of the flooding, 1,300 National Guardsmen have been called to duty and have made over 175 water and aerial rescues. Regional swift-water rescue teams have been continuously patrolling and have released hundreds of trapped would-be victims from their cars and houses. After tallying the number of rescues between each service force, the number was estimated to be well over 600 between people and animals stranded by the flood. The water has killed at least 17 people so far and the number may continue to grow as rescue teams are uncovering more submerged vehicles and gaining access to previously blocked houses.
The rainfall seems to have subsided, however the rain that fell in higher elevation is still flowing downwards and into the coastal, sea-level cities. Many cities are now declaring that this is a 1,000 year event meaning that in any given year, there is a one in one thousand chance of witnessing such a vast amount of precipitation. “The flooding is unprecedented and historical,” claimed Dr. Marshall Shepherd, the Director of the Atmospheric Sciences program at the University of Georgia and famed meteorologist. The National Guard is now assisting in sandbagging operations and other mitigation tactics in order to corral the spread of water as much as possible. Mayor Benjamin stated, at another press conference on Tuesday, that “We aren’t close to being out of the woods,” explaining his belief that even more dams may at risk of breaking or over flowing with excess water.